Show Us Your Food Porn: Andrew Scrivani

It’s tempting for a layman to think that beautiful food photos pretty much take themselves, and that all a photographer needs to do is find some decent light and start clicking. But one need only study the work of New York shutterbug Andrew Scrivani to dispel that misconception and reveal how a strong personal style can make an image not merely pretty, but also impossible to forget.

Scrivani’s signature dark and moody shots, inspired by the famed Dutch masters, have made him a brand name in the world of food photography—a brooding counterpoint to the sunny, idealistic shots that grace so many glossy magazines. Sam Sifton was one of his earliest fans, sending him on countless assignments after running an image of pearly congee made and shot by the photographer on the front page of the New York Times Dining section nearly a decade ago. He’s been a Grey Lady fixture ever since.

Scrivani first tried his hand behind the lens as a bored lit major at Baruch College, enrolling in photo classes at the School of Visual Arts across the street. And, boy, are we glad he stuck with photography.

From regular gigs with the Times to shoots for ABC’s The Chew, Scrivani approaches food with an in-your-face attitude, whether he’s capturing the intensity of a chef at work or taking us up-close-and-personal with a glistening julep cup. He also never forgets the primal power of food porn: “Our ability as food photographers to capture food in a way that really makes it an object of desire is the key to our craft.” Amen.

Here, Scrivani breaks down his 10 favorite shots from his portfolio and offers insight into how he adapts his style for different assignments.

It's tempting for a layman to think that beautiful food photos pretty much take themselves, and that all a photographer needs to do is find some decent light and start clicking. But one need only study the work of New York shutterbug Andrew Scrivani to dispel that misconception and reveal how a strong personal style can make an image not merely pretty, but also impossible to forget.
Scrivani's signature dark and moody shots, inspired by the famed Dutch masters, have made him a brand name in the world of food photography—a brooding counterpoint to the sunny, idealistic shots that grace so many glossy magazines. Sam Sifton was one of his earliest fans, sending him on countless assignments after running an image of pearly congee made and shot by the photographer on the front page of the New York Times Dining section nearly a decade ago. He's been a Grey Lady fixture ever since.
Scrivani first tried his hand behind the lens as a bored lit major at Baruch College, enrolling in photo classes at the School of Visual Arts across the street. And, boy, are we glad he stuck with photography.
From regular gigs with the Times to shoots for ABC's The Chew, Scrivani approaches food with an in-your-face attitude, whether he's capturing the intensity of a chef at work or taking us up-close-and-personal with a glistening julep cup. He also never forgets the primal power of food porn: "Our ability as food photographers to capture food in a way that really makes it an object of desire is the key to our craft." Amen.
Here, Scrivani breaks down his 10 favorite shots from his portfolio and offers insight into how he adapts his style for different assignments.Follow Andrew on Instagram (@andrewscrivani) and check out his website here.

1. Melissa Clark's Sriracha Mayo (New York, NY)

I love this shot because it’s a something-from-nothing shot. This was part of a shoot for Melissa Clark’s "A Good Appetite" column for the New York Times, and it was all about homemade mayonnaise. The details of the swirl and swoosh of the mayo say everything about what mayo should be. By concentrating on how the light would play off the surface of the food and getting close to the bowl with a macro lens, it becomes about shape and form rather than just a bowl of mayo.
(Shot at Sunday Sauce Studio)

2. Mint Julep (New York, NY)

Florence Fabricant [of the New York Times Dining section] loaned me the tumbler for this shot. It comes from the early days of my career, and it taught me a lot about the importance of being accurate with my propping and lighting for a story. Here, the story was the Kentucky Derby’s signature drink—the Mint Julep. This shot has lived on for years and has sold year after year for newspaper stories about Derby food and drink because we got it right. It says Kentucky Derby all over—from the correct tumbler, to the bright morning light, to that spectacular mint spear.
(Shot at Sunday Sauce Studio)

3. Cranberries (New York, NY)

This shot was taken when I was shooting for The Chew (Hyperion, 2012). It was not meant for the book; it wasn’t even styled or ready on my shooting table when I took this picture. I was resting off set and the stylist placed this bowl of cranberries on a table near me as she styled a drink on the set. I saw the way the light was hitting the bowl and snapped a few frames. In the end, this picture made the book. It just goes to show that you need to be taking pictures with your eyes all the time because you never know what may become “the shot.”
(Shot at Metro Digital Studios)

4. Rose-scented berry tart (New York, NY)

Someone once told me that I was one-dimensional, that I could only shoot dark, moody, masculine images. So, I cooked, styled, and propped this shot by myself, without any stylists, because I wanted to respond to that misrepresentation in all aspects of the shoot. The white on white with the hot reds of the tart reminded me of some of the photographers who make this their signature style, like Hélène Dujardin. And it’s those shooters that I am directly contrasted with when it comes to style. I guess I also wanted to prove to myself that I was flexible enough to pull it off, and I did.
(Shot at Sunday Sauce Studio)

5. Bouley Test Kitchen (New York, NY)

There is so much happening in this shot that I was fortunate to capture—the intensity of chef Akira Back from the Bellagio in Las Vegas, the diligence of his sous chefs, and, most importantly, the curiosity of the waiter peeking in. Here, chef Back was cooking at the Bouley test kitchen in Tribeca for a charity event. The lesson here is not to be afraid to poke you camera into places that may seem awkward or uncomfortable. I established a rapport with the chef and the staff before I took my camera out of my bag. It helps to prepare people for what you are going to be doing, letting them know you respect their space and how you plan to capture them before you just start climbing over people and clicking away. The best shots are to be had a lot of the time by being in the right place at the right time.

6. Beet greens bruschetta with poached egg and fontina (New York, NY)

This shot is all about food porn. The response I get when I show this photo at my workshops – the oooh’s and aaah’s – says everything about it. There is something really primal about this shot from Martha Rose Shulman’s "Recipes for Health" column in the New York Times: the oozing egg yolk always seems to elicit emotions in people that border on rapturous. Our ability as food photographers to capture food in a way that really makes it an object of desire is the key to our craft. In my mind, it is essential to truly see food this way in order to be successful in this business.
(Shot at Sunday Sauce Studio)

7. Ancelet Cochon de Lait (Scott, LA)

Being able to capture a moment in time and have it tell an entire story is at the core of what we do as photographers. In food, those events that bring people together with their culture make some of the most compelling images. In the heart of Cajun Country, this party is the one to be at; the men gather around the smokers hours before any food comes out of them. Checking. Waiting. Checking again. The food was so amazing, although not that photogenic. Obviously, this was more about people and culture—food was just the backdrop.

8. Fruit tart made with nectarines (New York, NY)

Sometimes, the shot just comes to you pre-packaged, ready-made, and requires nothing more than the recognition that the only thing to do is put it up on the table and take the shot. This was the first shot I took that day. There were many others, but this one was photographed just as the tart came out of the oven, still piping hot, and the raw beauty and graphic simplicity of this tart left nothing to be desired for a great food shot. It helps not to over-think it. Trust your instincts and your eye and good things will come of it.
(Shot at Sunday Sauce Studio)

9. Cake and candy (New York, NY)

These [represent] what I would say has become sort of my signature style. It is this type of lighting and set-up that has helped my pictures become recognizable without my byline. These shots, which ran in Eating Well’s 10 Best Issue and Melissa Clark’s New York Times column, focused on Halloween candy for grown-ups. Side lighting to a dark fall-off is what I describe as my painterly style that draws inspiration from the famous Dutch still-life works.
(Shot at Sunday Sauce Studio)

10. On food and beauty (New York, NY)

New You, a glossy, high-end beauty magazine, came to me because they were shooting food for their first ever issue, but wanted it to be non-traditional. They were trying to sell the concept that certain types of food were just as important to your beauty kit as your makeup brush or your eyelash curler. We conceived these ideas collectively, and it was the most intellectually stimulating shoot I had done in a while. It was a real departure from “make it look delicious” to “make it look curious.” The fish tails were my favorite from this shoot.
(Shot at Sunday Sauce Studio)

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